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Militias have expanded their presence in Rio’s pharmaceutical sector in recent years, providing a new source of income for these criminal groups. This increase comes from both the control of pharmacies, with the movement of stolen cargo, and the extortion of existing establishments with security fees.
A part of these pharmacies are under the direct control of the militias, being used for money laundering and for the sale of products derived from cargo theft. The number of dominated pharmacies is uncertain, because not even the authorities can estimate how many there are.
A representative of the Regional Pharmacy Council (CRF) was threatened with a firearm when trying to sue an establishment. The case took place in the Campo Grande neighborhood, West Zone. According to the report delivered by the inspector to the CRF, an armed militiaman told her not to sue the store for irregularities, otherwise he would “pursue the [inspection’s] car wherever it went.”
